About the photo: On Dec. 22, 1955, Al Lopez, who was managing the Cleveland Indians at the time, played Santa Claus at a Tampa Showmen’s Association Christmas party. Lopez passed out hundreds of gifts to children as well as two dozen baseballs he had autographed.

Construction is underway for baseball exhibits

Over the past few months, we’ve documented the great progress being made to the Al Lopez House and how the Tampa Baseball Museum’s exterior will look once rehabilitation is complete. In this issue, get a sneak peek of the museum’s interior.

Construction on the Tampa Baseball Museum exhibits has begun. Museum curator Elizabeth McCoy has been working closely with Creative Arts to design exhibits that showcase Tampa’s love of the game and highlight the artifacts and memorabilia that have been generously donated by the community. With designs complete, Creative Arts is beginning to build the exhibits.

A Creative Arts craftsmen fabricates one of the exhibits that will welcome visitors upon walking into the Tampa Baseball Museum.

Creative Arts is currently fabricating the display that will greet visitors who enter the Tampa Baseball Museum. The display will feature the museum’s welcome message as well as artifacts honoring Al Lopez. It will also serve as the back wall for a baseball diamond feature where a 55-inch screen will show everything from presentations to archival game footage to historical photos.

Based in St. Petersburg, Creative Artsis an award-winning design-build firm that specializes in exhibit design, construction and installation for museums, hotels and other facilities. Their work can be found across the country and internationally at Hilton Hotels, Epcot Center, FAO Schwarz, Titanic Museum, The Mayo Clinic, and many more. Locally, you can see their work at the Dali Museum, Tampa Bay History Center, John F. Germany Library, All Children’s Hospital and Shriners International Headquarters, among others.

“We are lucky to have Creative Arts’ team of highly skilled artists and builders working on the exhibits that will chronicle more than 125 years of Tampa’s baseball heritage,” said McCoy. “Not only are they incredibly talented, but they also share our passion for telling a great story and bringing history to life.”

You can learn more about Creative Arts and its team on the new History Channel show, “Museum Men.”

Stock donation can support museum

As 2014 comes to a close, Ybor City Museum Society board members report that many supporters of the Tampa Baseball Museum at the Al Lopez House are making donations.

While some donors prefer to give cash, others prefer to donate stock. During the past month alone, the Ybor City Museum Society, a 501 (c)(3) non-profit organization, has received three stock donations from generous supporters. A stock donation is an option to support the Tampa Baseball Museum that you might not have considered.

Like cash, stock donations are tax deductible, but the added benefit is that the deduction can be made on the current market value of the stock, if the stock is held for more than one year. Which means, if the value of the stock has increased since it was bought, donors can receive a higher tax deduction at a lower cost. Stock donations also offer an extra benefit to donors because it avoids paying future capital gains tax.

For example, if you bought 35 shares of Apple stock 10 years ago for $500, but today those shares are worth $10,000, you have a taxable gain of $9,500 in the stock. If you donate those 35 shares, you can deduct the current market value of $10,000, while the cost of your donation is only $500, which you originally paid for the stocks.

Stock donations support the museum because the shares can be sold at the current market value. For more information on making a stock donation, call YCMS at 813-247-1434 or speak with your accountant.

The Tampa Baseball Museum at the Al Lopez House is being developed by the Ybor City Museum Society, a 501 (c)(3) nonprofit organization that preserves and promotes Ybor City’s cultural heritage and supports the Ybor City Museum State Park.

Tampa Baseball Museum at the Al Lopez House

2003 N. 19th Street | Tampa, Florida 33605

(813) 247-1434

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